Lessons
by Hallie Black
Summary: Professor Sprout has just given 7th year Gryffindors a new project, where the class, divided in pairs, has to raise a rare plant. What’s gonna happen when Lily finds out who her partner is? And how will she survive in his sole company?
1. The Project Begins

DISCLAIMER: Not JKR, don't own any of the characters, settings, or stuff like that. It all belongs to her.

A/N: Okay, this is the new fic I'd promised. I don't think it's gonna be very long, though I'm not sure yet. It can be read as a parallel to 'First', since I'm using the same OC's (Helen, Darcy, Alice), and I'll throw in here and there some references to it. However, it's a different story, which takes place in seventh year before Lily and James get together. You don't have to have read 'First' to understand this one. That said, enjoy!

Lily knew perfectly well that students were not supposed to run in the corridors. Especially seventh year student. Especially the Head Girl. But she also knew that if she didn't reach Green House Five in less than four minutes and forty-eight seconds, life as she knew it would be over.

Let me explain. Every year since third year, Professor Sprout had given her classes specific projects with particular plants. Every year she would let students pair up and assign them their work. And every year since third year, Lily always had to race to the Green House to make sure she arrived earlier than someone else.

James Potter wasn't your average seventeen-year-old. He was bright (but he wasted his brains for hexes and pranks), arrogant, spoiled, and stuck-up. A real nightmare. And he was in love with Lily.

Every year, whenever one of said projects came 'round the corner, the two of them would run to the Green House: if Lily succeeded in preceding her enemy (because that's how she considered James: a horrible and possibly lethal enemy), then she would get to pick her partner first and pair up with one of her friends (usually Helen Thomas or Alice Henderson); otherwise (though this case had fortunately never happened), it would be Potter to take the first pick, and Lily knew she'd be spending over a month of her life in the sole company of the one person she despised the most.

As Lily hurriedly ran through the great oak doors, she checked her watch. _Three minutes and two seconds to go_. Goody. She could still make it. Potter was probably still pigging out on some cakes for breakfast. Lily smiled to herself at the prospect of a Potter-free month.

Not that even if they _weren't_ paired together she could actually hope to see less of him. Because of reasons way beyond Lily, she (a responsible and intelligent young woman) and that idiotic toerag were co-Heads of Hogwarts. Which meant that, because of stupid Head Duties, she had to see a lot more of Potter than she thought she could bear. And even when they weren't involved in any particular activity, Potter always made it his job to come badger her at every hour, asking her out or … or some other stupid thing. Potter did have a lot of creativity for those.

She could finally see Green House Five in the distance. Victory! With two minutes to spare! She stared ahead in the distance, but, to her luck, Potter was nowhere in sight. She couldn't believe she had avoided for the fifth year running such a torture…

And yet… it felt wrong. Things were going way too smoothly. Could it be humanly possible that Potter had actually _forgotten_ that partners were going to be picked today? Or maybe… maybe he didn't care about pairing up with her any longer… Maybe he had realized he didn't really like her, and he had moved on to a new prey (poor girl, Lily felt sorry for her)… But she'd better not get her hopes up.

And, anyway, what use was it thinking about it now? She had almost reached the Green House, with one minute and a half to go… Nothing was going to go wrong… Yes, this was promising to be a wonderful day!

Or not?

_Diffindo!_ yelled a voice from behind, as Lily's bag tore and her belongings fell scattered on the grass. She instinctively bent down to collect them, and only as she heard a loud noise did she look up.

James Potter was flying top speed on his new broomstick toward the Green House, his wand still in his hand. As he zoomed past her, Lily didn't even have the time to say anything, though she distinctly heard him mutter, "See ya inside, partner."

"You — you — evil, foul, blasted — argh!" yelled the redhead, though she highly doubted he could hear her. She broke into a run, perfectly aware that she would never catch up with him; she was quite fast, but she was no match for a Nimbus.

As she finally reached the Green House, she noticed it was completely empty except for Professor Sprout and — obviously — Potter.

"Er, Professor," began Lily hesitantly, hoping against hope that stupid Potter hadn't yet told her anything about pairs for the project. "Er, about partners for the–"

"No need to say anything, Miss Evans," interrupted Professor Sprout raising her hand. "Mr. Potter here's told me everything."

"He — he has, has he?" she asked, her heart sinking.

"Oh yeah," the boy jumped in, "I already explained to our understanding Professor that due to our current Head Duties, we have already agreed that working together on this project will be quite agreeable… and not to mention entertaining," he added, winking.

"About that, actually," said Lily, "I thought about it, and I don't think it would be absolutely necessary to pair up together, you know," she added, glaring at Potter.

"Did you?" asked James serenely. "I think it would be best to do this thing together, but if you don't think you'll manage then I understand…"

Lily's glare intensified. She wasn't afraid of Potter. And she wasn't a coward. And the last thing she wanted to do was leave him the satisfaction of her running away from a challenge. "Well," she finished, smiling, "if you think it so crucial, then yes, _partner_, we can do this." It couldn't honestly be worse than have him as fellow Head Boy, would it?

"Good," said Sprout. The rest of the class had filed in, in the meantime. "Now, settle down everyone. As you should remember, we shall be starting today with Project R." She turned her back on the students before turning to face them once more, holding what looked like beans. "_These_," she explained, holding them up for everyone to see, "are going to grow up to become beautiful _Magnolicae Veneficae_" (only Lily seemed to know exactly what _that_ was; Potter could bet it was some cuss word in an unknown language) "and they will do it thanks to you. We have been studying these types of shrubs" (aha! So they were shrubs!) "for the past three months; it is now time to take the matter in your own hands." She paused dramatically at this. "You will now divide into pairs; each pair will be given a seed and a pot. You are to take care of the Magnolicae Veneficae by doing all the things we have studied. You will have a month's time to make sure your seed grows into a plant, becomes a flower, has fruits and is ready to produce more seeds. You will also write a research paper on how you are taking care of it, listing all the problems that will undoubtedly occur, and how you solved them. Remember that this project will count as half of your final grade in this subject: I would therefore warn you to pay particular attention to it and make sure you don't set fire to it or things like that." At this final statement, she stared significantly at James and Sirius, who were playing a quick match of Exploding Snap (clearly paying rapt attention to Professor Sprout and her precious plants). At this glare, James was strongly reminded of Professor McGonagall. "And now please pair up and come over here for your seed."

At this, there was a general scraping of chairs as everyone started looking for a partner, possibly nice and smart enough to get them a high mark. Helen Thomas, Lily's best friend since first year, came up to her. "Wanna pair up with me?" she asked.

Lily sighed heavily. "I wish. But thanks to that dratted cousin of yours I will be spending the next month of my life side along side with him." She shuddered at the thought.

"What?" asked Helen, surprised. "James beat you out here? But you woke up at the crack of dawn, Lils! How could he have gotten here before you?"

"He cheated, the foul —"

"Hey, partner," said the one voice Lily was not particularly keen to hear.

"Potter," she spat venomously. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to show you our baby, my dear," said James, winking at his cousin in the meantime. James and Helen looked very much alike: they were both tall and thin, with raven-black hair and handsome features (handsome features? Helen had handsome features, while Potter was just plain horrible!).

"Our baby? Ew, Potter, don't bring these negative images to my mind, please!" answered Lily, shuddering still.

"Well, don't want to interrupt the happy couple!" said Helen brightly. "I'll go see if there's still someone available to pair up with me."

Lily turned her attention to the brunette (a better sight than Potter, anyway). "Why don't you ask Alice?" Alice Henderson was another very good friend of the two girls.

"Are you kidding me? Ever since she and Frank started going out when do you ever see them on their own? They'll be working together, of course," answered Helen offhandedly.

"You might ask Sirius. He was rather shocked when I told him I was working with Evans, so unless one of his fan club members has already scared him into pairing with her, he ought to be still partner-less," said James.

Helen grinned as she made her way toward the good-looking boy. She had had a secret crush on Sirius since always, but she was forced to keep it… well, _secret_, because with how Lily felt about James, Helen highly doubted she liked Sirius any better.

"So," said Potter once he and Lily were left on their own. "How do we name him?"

Lily stared at him. "How do we name _what_, exactly?"

"Him," said James, looking fondly at the seed he was holding.

"_It_, you mean," said Lily. "And no, I don't think naming it would be a good idea." The less she got involved in this stupid project, the better. And she definitely didn't want to think as that Magnolicae as hers and Potter's. She knew she was going to have to make a couple of things clear to that prat. "Now listen up, Potter. I know you're used to not working at all, especially during team projects, but don't expect me to do all the work for you."

"I don't want you to," said Potter hastily. "I _want_ to help you raise our —"

"Project," interrupted Lily. "Now, what we'll do is this: I'll look after the plant, while you can do the paper…" She trailed off. Nope, that couldn't work: the research paper was just about as important as the shrub itself. And plus, since when did Potter even know how to read? No, she'd have to do the paper herself. But she couldn't leave that poor tiny creature in the hands of that idiot.

James could see Lily's brain working under her fiery red hair. "O-kay."

"No," interrupted the redhead, "no, it's not okay. You can't write the paper."

"And why not?" asked Potter, affronted.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Do you even _know_ the alphabet?"

Potter scoffed. "My name's James, not Sirius. I only get a little confused sometimes on which letter comes first between Y, X, and W." He shook his head, blushing slightly. "But that's beside the point, I know how to write, and I could borrow Sirius's Quick-Quotes Quill, anyway."

Lily still looked unconvinced.

"Fine! If you don't trust me to write your stupid paper, then you write it, and _I'll_ look after our baby!" said Potter angrily.

"And you'd think I'd leave this poor tiny shrub in _your_ hands for more than five seconds? Are you joking?" asked Lily.

"Then how's this? We work _together_, we _both_ look after the plant and we _both_ write the paper!" finished the boy.

"I know!" said the redhead. "Why don't you go play with your stupid broomstick while I take care of the project?"

It was James's turn to raise an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted me to do half the work?" He paused. "And plus, I was actually looking forward to help you raise Harry."

Lily stared. "Harry?"

"Our plant. That's how I called him," finished James proudly.

Lily was left rather speechless by this announcement. It was going to be a long month.

A/N: Okay, first chapter done. What do you say? Do you like the idea of this new fic? I'm more than anxious to know what you think of it so… reviews?


	2. A Sirius Problem

James thought Lily was joking when she told him she was going to do the whole project on her own. Yet two days had already passed, and he hadn't even seen Harry. When he woke up the morning of the pair-picking day, he hadn't hurried out in the gardens and hexed Evans' purse for nothing: he'd done it to spend some quality time with his beloved Lily and their plant. He wanted to be there when Harry sprouted his first little leaf. He wanted to water it, put the charms he'd learnt to work. But Lily was absolutely unmovable. Seemed to think he was going to blow it up or something if she left it in his sole company for more than one minute.

He descended the stairs to the common room that Saturday morning thinking about all of this, wishing he could be with Lily and help her out. She couldn't possibly do it all herself, James knew it. But she was too damn stubborn to see she needed help.

Sirius's voice interrupted James's train of thought. "Why looking so gloomy, Prongs?"

James shrugged. "Nothing."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Right. Listen, Prongs, if you're still going on that you're sad and miserable because Evans won't let you near your stupid project, then think again, okay? I mean, this project is _hard_!" he finished, emphasizing the last word as he opened a heavy book, looking for reasons as to why in two days his plant had not yet sprouted any leaves nor roots.

Remus looked up from his pot and stared at Sirius. "You only say that because for the first time in your life you actually _have_ to do some of the work."

"I know!" said Sirius, nodding vehemently. "Helen is being very unreasonable about this! She actually expects me to _study_! I mean, maybe it really would have been better pairing up with one of the proud members of the SIRIUS BLACK FAN CLUB, at least I wouldn't have had to do anything except inspire them with my presence…" He paused, a dreamy expression on his face. "But Helen is hot, and I–"

"–would do anything for a good snog," finished Remus, "right?"

"Yeah," admitted Sirius, turning his attention back to the book. He looked up yet again, however, barely a moment later.

"Wow, Padfoot, I think your attention span has grown a bit, hasn't it?" asked the werewolf. "Three full seconds on the book! I'm impressed!"

Sirius, however, ignored this comment and turned to James. "Listen, I have an idea, Prongs!"

Remus rolled his eyes and seemed to prepare himself for the worst. 'Sirius' and 'idea' were words he'd never use in the same sentence. James, however, looked interested. But then, Remus highly doubted James had more working brain cells than his best friend, so it wasn't much of a surprise.

"No, seriously, Moony, I _do_ have an idea!" he repeated, staring at his friend's skeptic face. "Listen, Prongs, you really want to work on your project, right?"

"Yeah," assented James.

"Whereas I don't want to do mine. So, how's this: you do _my_ project, and I go snog Helen! Huh? Am I a genius or what?" he asked. "What do you say?"

James rolled his eyes. "Padfoot, I think you've missed the point."

"What point? You wanna do a project, right? Well, I'm giving you a chance!" said Sirius.

"Now, Padfoot, listen here," interrupted Remus, talking slowly as if he were addressing himself to someone either really daft or really small. "The project is just an _excuse_ to spend time with _Lily_. Lily. Remember, Padfoot? The girl Prongs likes. He doesn't want to do _any_ project, he wants to do one with _her_!"

Sirius glared. "Lily! Always Lily! Lily this and Lily that! _I'm_ your best friend, Prongs, not _Lily_!" He shook his head miserably. "I don't know how she's doing it, but she's ruining my favorite marauder, she is. Look at you! Pining for a stupid project! Pairing up with her instead of _me_! We've been a great team for every project since first year, and now all you think of is Lily!"

Sirius paused to draw breath, while James looked stunned at such an outburst. Remus seized this chance to interrupt. "Maybe Prongs was tired of doing all the studying when you two were 'working' together!"

Sirius laughed. "C'mon, Moony, when Prongs and I worked together it was _you_ doing all the work, Prongs never did anything!" He turned back to James. "You and Lily aren't even together, and yet you spend more time with her than us! Doesn't our friendship mean anything to you?" he asked dramatically.

James was left rather speechless. "But I _like_ Lily…"

Sirius rolled his eyes, shut his book and stormed to his dormitory, turning back only to take his plant with him.

James stared at Remus. "What the devil has gotten into _him_?"

Remus grinned at James's ingenuity. "C'mon, Prongs, he's just jealous! It always used to be the two of you, and now you found a girl you really care about. It's normal, just give him some time to cool off." He smiled at James's still confused expression. "Don't worry, he'll be fine in no time."

"I hope so," muttered James, before heading downstairs in the Great Hall.

In the meantime, in the girls' dormitory, Helen and Lily, too, were discussing Herbology projects.

"Where's your plant, anyway?" asked Lily.

Helen smiled. "Sirius's taking care of it for today."

"He _is_? Sirius Black? The one person who has never opened a book in his whole life is working?" demanded Lily, awestruck.

"Yup," answered Helen, still smiling.

"And you trust him enough to leave your seed alone with him for a whole day?" asked Lily, more and more shocked.

"Yeah. I mean, okay, I was rather worried at first, but then I saw that he managed fine, actually. Fine, so maybe he isn't the most responsible person in the whole wide world, but his is intelligent, you can't deny that. Look at that map he and James and Remus drew! I mean, that's not the work of some idiot…"

"Remus probably did all of it," answered Lily offhandedly.

Helen shrugged and headed out of the room. "I don't think so. C'mon, Lils, let's get down to breakfast."

"Yeah," said Lily, still immersed in her thoughts. She had to turn back, however, because she'd forgotten Harry. As much as she hated to admit it, she didn't even mind the name. It was far more friendly than 'shrub'.

"What about James?" asked Helen.

"What about him?" demanded Lily.

"Is _he_ doing anything?"

"Of course not, but I didn't really expect him to," said Lily.

"Well, Sirius didn't want to, either, but I made him. You should do the same, Lils."

"Oh, no, he actually volunteered to help me, but I definitely don't want him to kill Harry, so I told him to go play with his stupid broomstick."

Helen raised an eyebrow. "Harry?"

Lily blushed lightly. "Oh, um, yeah. That's the plant. The only thing that stupid cousin of yours did is name him."

"That's so sweet!" said the brunette.

"It's not, it's actually kind of stupid–" began Lily.

"But you think it's cute, and that's why you're calling it that way," finished Helen.

"No. I mean, it's just that–oh, never mind." She gasped and turned back toward the Common Room. "Wait, Hel, I forgot the Strengthening Solution I was supposed to give Harry up in our dormitory. I'll be right back."

"Wait, Lils," said Helen, holding out a small vial. "Here, I got it for you."

The redhead smiled. "Thanks, Hel! I don't know what I'd do without you."

Helen looked thoughtful for a moment, as the two friends reached the Great Hall. "You really ought to give Potter that plant sometimes, you know," she said.

Lily stared. "Are you kidding me? Leaving this fragile, delicate little plant in the hands of that monster? I might as well set fire to it, it'd probably be less painful for it than an hour alone with that dungbrain."

"But you can't do everything yourself! You'll crack up!"

Lily shook her head. "Nonsense! Helen, this is our final year, I won't let Potter ruin my chances for good grades in my N.E.W.T.'s!"

"Yes, but, c'mon, maybe you should give him a chance, I mean, I think it'll be fine to give him a chance for a couple of hours, I mean, what could he do to it, honestly?"

As if on cue, James picked that precise moment to toss a small egg at Snape's head forcefully. Lily stared at her best friend. "Look what he did to that poor, innocent egg! Think about its poor hen mother! Think about the chick it'll never grow up to be because of Potter! Do you want this to happen to Harry as well?"

Helen rolled her eyes. "Fine, so James still acts like an eight year old, but don't you think you're being a bit overdramatic?"

"No," said Lily stoutly.

"You'll crack under the strain, trust me."

"I won't."

"I'll give you a week and you'll be begging Potter to look after that stupid shrub."

"No way. I'd die rather than beg Potter for something." She paused. "And don't call Harry stupid."

Helen shook her head sadly. "Suit yourself."

A/N: Okay, maybe not the greatest chapter of the story but it's not too bad. Coming up: Remus finds a girlfriend, and the Marauders find out! Okay that's it for now, hope you guys liked this chapter and please leave a review!


	3. Reviewing Decisions

It had taken her a week, but Lily had finally realized she needed help. Harry had already gotten 'sick' twice because she'd forgotten to either water him or something equally stupid. She hadn't even gotten started on her research paper, and her marks in her other subjects were dropping. Taking care of Harry as a single parent — well, on her own, anyway — was not as easy as she thought.

And this is how we find our favorite redhead, Tuesday morning, heading grudgingly toward James to ask for help. Argh! How awful it felt to admit it!

She finally found him, leaning near the fireplace in the common room, flirting with a couple of third-year girls and looking haughty as always. _Oh well_, thought Lily, _might as well get this over with soon_.

She walked up to him and gulped. James smiled cockily at her and the third-years stalked away. "Hello, beautiful!" he greeted.

Her first words were not as warm. "Potter, we've got to talk," she said dryly.

James smiled. He seemed to have been waiting for this for the past week. He was still smiling. Oh, how she longed to punch him hard in the face! "Well, I'm all ears, sweetie."

_Breathe. You need his help, Lily, and killing him would not be appropriate for a Head Girl_, she told herself. "Right," she said briskly, "I reckon I was wrong when I–"

James's grin widened. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that, what did you say?"

Lily was seriously starting to get annoyed. She had mistakenly snubbed James, and now he was going to get a kick out of her apologies. "I said I was wrong since I–"

"Oh," he interrupted yet again, "so it wasn't my ears deceiving me! You actually admitted being wrong! That's got to be a first, isn't it?"

"Listen, Potter, don't make this harder than it already is for me!" she exclaimed. "And plus, we're not all like you, Potter, us poor mortals actually admit our faults, unlike you, who are so big-headed you can't even–"

"I thought you were here to apologise?" he asked sweetly.

Lily flared up at once. "Who said anything about an apology? You're the one who should be apologising to the world for making it an awful place due to your presence!"

James tsked. "Tut, tut, Evans, that was unnecessarily cruel. You're not getting me to work with you by yelling at me."

Lily threw up her hands. "You know what, Potter? Forget I even came, I thought you could be at least mature enough to conduct a civil conversation with me and take on your responsibilities with Harry! Apparently, I was wrong if you–"

James smiled, genuinely surprised. "You call him Harry?"

Lily blushed. "It's your fault, you put that stupid name in my head–"

"I'm sorry, Lily. I was being stupid on purpose," he said quietly.

"Yeah, if it weren't for–" she stopped in mid-sentence. "What did you just say?"

James grinned again. "I thought I was the only one trying to make the other one uncomfortable."

"No, no, I was just shocked, that's all," said Lily. "I don't think I've ever heard you apologise to me for something you said."

"Maybe you haven't. Or maybe you weren't listening properly before," he added, cocking his head. "Or maybe I've changed…"

"I wouldn't get my hopes that high," she blurted. "Sorry… can't get out of the old habit…"

"I don't expect you to," said James. "Just as I hope you won't expect me to act all civil and responsible for the whole time…"

This time it was Lily's turn to grin. "I wouldn't have expected you to, anyway. Bigheadedness is not something you can grow out of overnight."

"What about unnecessary cruelty and stubbornness?" he asked slyly.

Lily smiled. "I don't know, I'd ask you. Were you able to grow out of them overnight?"

"Touche'!" laughed James. "Are we done bickering for now?"

"I don't think we'll ever grow out of _that_…" said Lily, giggling as well. "So, are you going to help me raising Har–the plant?"

James laughed. "You can call him Harry, you know, I'm not going to laugh."

"But you _are_ laughing!" said Lily.

James was still sniggering but tried to stop. "Right. Sorry about that. Anyway, of course I want to work with you! I've been waiting for a chance for the past four years!"

"Okay. I have two rules, then," finished Lily.

"Fire away your conditions, my lady," said James.

"Number One: don't kill Harry."

James stared at her, affronted. "I wasn't going to! I like Harry!"

But Lily plunged on, pretending not to hear him. "And rule Number Two: no funny business."

James grinned. "Okay. Anything else?"

"I'll let you know when I think of something."

And that was how, a week after the project had begun, Lily and James finally started working together. That evening, they got started with Harry. It had already sprouted three fat red leaves, which they hoped was a good sign.

"Are the leaves supposed to be red?" asked James, leafing (no pun intended!) through his Herbology book.

"I don't think so," answered Lily, looking worried. "The book doesn't say anything on the colour, but they're green in the picture… Look," she added, showing him.

"Right." He stared around, but the other Gryffindors seemed to be doing anything but the project. "Maybe they'll turn green when he gets older… you know, like babies, that when they're born they all have blond hair and blue eyes, and then they grow up and–"

"I don't think so," interrupted Lily again. "I mean, I'm _sure_ it would have said something if that were the case…"

"Okay, well, I guess we'll just have to ask Sprout tomorrow…" He paused. "What if he got sick?"

"Are you implying I can't take care of my baby… plant?" asked Lily rather hotly.

"No," answered James, "I'm just saying his leaves are red instead of green, and red makes me think of blood, and blood makes me think of death, and death–"

"I got the point, Potter!" exclaimed Lily.

He looked sheepishly at her. "Sorry."

"Never mind. What do we have to do now? We gave him the Strengthening Solution, a bit of Mandrake Juice just for the roots, and we felt the texture of the leaves — which, at least, seems okay… Is there anything else?" asked Lily.

"Yeah," answered James. "We forgot do bid him goodnight and give him a pillow for his leaves…"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I was being serious, you know."

"So was I, I don't think it'd be a bad idea," said James.

"Listen, it's already weird that we actually call him — it — 'Harry'… I think talking to it would be _way_ too creepy, okay? I don't know what you're used to, but I don't talk to shrubs," finished Lily. "Do you?"

"Well," answered James, "my mum once bought me a talking begonia — _that_ was weird — but I talked to it and it actually talked back, you know. It even decided its own name — Veronica, she wanted to be called, said she came from Italy–"

"Okay… Right. I keep forgetting you come from a wizarding family."

James stayed quiet for a moment, then spoke up again. The cheeky grin on his face was not very promising for Lily. "You know, Evans, I was thinking–"

"No way!" she interrupted, looking at him disbelievingly.

"What?" asked James, confused.

"You can actually _think_?"

James rolled his eyes. "Ah ah. Goodness, I can't stop laughing… you're so funny… And I don't like that superior attitude, you know. Need I remind you that I got Outstanding in _every_ subject in my O.W.L.'s, including Divination — in which, as I recall, you barely scraped an E?"

Why did he always have to bring that up? It was already humiliating to know that she, studious Lily Evans, had been beaten, if only by one single mark, by him, haughty James Potter, who, in her opinion, had never even opened a book in his entire life?

"As I was saying…" began James yet again. "I was thinking…"

"Oh, here we go again!" blurted out Lily.

But James plunged on, unperturbed. "Do you wanna know what would make the world a better place?"

"No," answered Lily dryly.

James pasted his cocky grin back on his face. "Having girls spending more time with me."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Listen, I'm sure this would make _your_ life better, but those poor girls…"

"And do you wanna know what's a real pity?" continued James.

"I dunno. Do I?" asked Lily.

"That there's not enough James Potters for all the women out there," said the boy.

"That's called luck," smiled Lily.

"And," continued James, "that the only James Potter in existence is too busy concentrating his energies on just one lucky girl, leaving the rest all sad and lonely."

"Yes," answered Lily, "_that_ is called misfortune. Especially since you picked me, of all people."

After a few moments of silence, James spoke up again. "I think we make a great team, Evans."

Lily sighed. "I don't, but please, prove me wrong."

"Okay!" grinned James, and moved his chair nearer to Lily's. Just as his face was closing in on the redhead's, Lily grabbed Harry and put it between them.

She glared at him. "I was joking, okay? Rule Number Two was 'No funny business', remember!" She paused, still staring threateningly at him. "And if you ever try that again, I swear I'll hex you all the way to Azkaban."

James looked a bit put out. "Okay…"

"Good," she finished, smiling, finally glad she'd gotten her point across. "Now, pass me the gloves."

"So," said Helen thoughtfully as she took a bite out of her eggs, "how's things going with James? I see you now let him near Harold, don't you?"

"It's Harry," Lily corrected automatically. Then she laughed. "I'm speaking about it as if it were alive, aren't I?"

"Well, technically, it is, because plants are living creatures," said Helen.

"Oh, you know what I mean," commented the redhead. "It's almost like it were a person."

"Yeah," said Helen, giggling, "yours and James's son… Don't I have a cute little nephew?"

"Ew," cut in Lily, pretending to choke, "don't say that, I beg of you! Fine, so maybe your stupid cousin is finally starting to grow on me — only a little, mind you. But that definitely does _not_ mean I want to bear his children or be involved with him in any way that is not the project or Head Duties, okay?"

"Okay, okay…" answered Helen, still smiling slightly. "But I seem to have touched a nerve… A bit of a touchy subject, isn't it?"

Lily chose to ignore this comment. "And what about you and Black?"

Helen blushed suddenly. "Oh. That. Um, well, we, uh, we get along well enough, I guess," she stammered.

Lily stared. Then she sighed, looking at her best friend sadly. "Yes, I know, having to be paired up with such a dunderhead must not be the greatest thing in the world… Sometimes I think he and Potter actually share a brain, for everything that doesn't concern school… they're both so–"

But exactly what they were, Helen never found out. At that precise moment, Sirius and the rest of the Marauders had just entered the room, walking haughtily toward the Gryffindor table. Lily was just about to make another one of her witty comments on the boys' stupidity when she saw Black make his way towards them. Thinking it was another of their idiot jokes, she was absolutely shocked to see him bend down, kiss Helen on the lips and sit on her other side.

Lily stared. And stared. Finally, she seemed to regain her ability to speak, and turned to Helen, surprised written all over her face. "What was _that_ all about?"

"Yeah," said Helen, blushing even more than before. "I hadn't mentioned that, had I? Well… I, um, I told you Sirius and I were getting along…"

"Yeah well," said Lily, "one thing is getting along, another is playing Tonsil Hockey in the Great Hall, okay?"

Helen didn't really know what to say to this, so concentrated hard on her bacon. Lily shook her head, at a complete loss for words, and turned to her food as well, deciding she would confront her friend about this matter later on.

A/N: I know I'd promised Remus having a girlfriend, but I wasn't able to fit it into this chapter… so Sirius got one instead! By the way, the part where James says that having girls shagging him would make the world a better place and that it's a pity that there's not enough of him for all the women out there is not something I came up with on my own. A guy in my class actually told me that. And he wasn't kidding. He reminds me a lot of James (only he's a _real_ jerk), and he's my constant inspiration.

That's it for now but please do let me know what you think about this fic, okay?


	4. Explanations

"All right," said Lily calmly, staring at her best friend straight in the eye. The shock of seeing her kiss Sirius Black this morning at breakfast was finally starting to wear off. Helen and Lily were alone in their dormitories: Lily had wanted a private conversation. "Explain yourself."

Helen was still blushing a bit, but replied defiantly, "I don't have to justify anything to you, you know. Just because you don't like James, it doesn't mean I shouldn't like Sirius or anything–"

"You mean you actually like him!" asked Lily, snorting. "You can't be serious about it! We're talking about Black, okay?"

Helen stared. "Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean? I know perfectly well who we're talking about."

"It certainly doesn't seem like it!" retorted the redhead. "We're talking about _Black_," she spat. "Sirius Black. The one guy who uses girls even more than your perverted cousin and then leaves them once he's had his little shag! Helen, you can't be serious about him!"

"What do you want, Lily? What do you want me to say?" asked the brunette. "I like him. Yes, you heard me correctly: I _like_ him!"

"I can't believe it! You've turned into one of them!" said Lily, still sounding rather shocked.

"I'm sorry?" asked Helen.

"You know, one of the idiot girls who want to date Black or Potter just because they're popular and handsome and — argh! They're just so stupid they actually think that there's more to them than just boobs and curves! Bimbos!" said Lily.

Helen looked like Lily had slapped her. "Is that what you think of me?"

"No," said Lily, immediately realizing what she'd just said. "No, no, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, Helen… it's just… Potter, Black… They're all of the same mold… Flatter girls just to have them throw their knickers at them…"

"Why do you keep dragging James into this?" asked Helen.

"Because," said Lily, "like I said, he and Black are identical! Don't you see? Black has done to you what Potter tried to do to me!"

"And what would that be?" demanded Helen hotly.

"Sweet-talk you enough to get you to fall for him. And you believed him!"

"Just because my heart isn't a piece of ice and I can actually feel emotions, it doesn't mean I'm inferior to you!" yelled Helen.

"What?" asked Lily. "I never said you were inferior to me or anything…"

"Yes, you did!" said Helen. "You implied it! You get so mad at James because you say he's so conceited, but you're just as bad as he is!"

This time it was Lily who was completely speechless. "W-what?" she stammered.

"Everything has got to revolve around you! I thought this conversation had started because you wanted to know about me and my _boyfriend_," she spat the last word to emphasize it even more, "and yet you can't help dragging your bloody relationship with James into it! We always talk about you! Your crush — your problems — you! You're my best friend, Lily, and you didn't even notice I have been liking Sirius Black for the past three years! And now that you've found out, now that I'm happy because my crush likes me back, you have to spoil it for me because you don't like James! Well, I really don't think so!" yelled Helen.

Lily was at a complete loss for words. "I'm just trying to help you, Helen… He's not right for you, he'll just hurt you!"

"Then I'll take a chance, Lily! Don't you get it? You've been avoiding James because you're scared of getting hurt, yet look how much you're hurting him now, and look at yourself! Are you happy? Alone? I know I'm happy now, now that I have a boyfriend that I really like and who likes me back! And if he breaks my heart tomorrow, I will at least be able to remember all the good times we shared together! What will you do!" finished Helen, still yelling.

And without even waiting for a reply, she stormed out of her dormitory, leaving Lily alone with Harry. "Do you think she's right?" she asked him.

Harry remained silent and still. Lily went over to him, poured some Mandrake juice in the pot, and walked to the common room, holding Harry tightly.

Helen was rather sad. She and Lily had never had a fight since first year. Not this big, anyway: they'd had a few minor arguments, but usually left it at that. But she was sick of it. Sick of Lily always being at the centre of attention. Sick of constantly being judged by her best friend about the guys she dated. Sick of the dumb comments on Sirius's stupidity and on the idiocy of all the girls soft enough to fall for him.

Because, whether she'd liked it or not, whether she'd wanted it or not, she had fallen for him. And quite a lot, too. And the fact that Sirius was now rather taken with her as well couldn't help making her even happier.

But then Lily had to go spoil it all. Just because she didn't want to admit her feelings for James, she had to ruin the one good thing which was finally happening in Helen's life. But she wasn't going to allow it.

Sirius noticed his girlfriend looking rather sour: she was sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, and she seemed to be thinking about something. He walked over to her, and sat down right beside her.

"Hey, beautiful," he began, smiling. "Are you okay?"

Helen nodded absently. "Yeah."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking rather concerned.

"Yeah." She paused. "No. No, I'm not. I just had a major argument with Lily, and now I'm not even talking to her, because she is one sadistic bitch!" She immediately blushed. "Sorry. I don't usually curse around like this, but… Damn!"

Sirius stared. Never, in his entire life, had he heard Helen talk so bitterly. And he had especially never heard her swear. "I'm guessing you and Lily don't usually fight, do you?"

Helen shook her head. "No. It's the first time, actually. I mean, sure, we've had discussions in the past, but today she really crossed the line."

"What happened?" asked Sirius, still looking rather worried. "What did she say that upset you so much?"

Helen didn't answer at first. She really didn't feel like going over that conversation with him. "She… well… she basically called me a… a…" She felt rather embarrassed, actually.

"Scarlet woman?" asked Sirius, smiling slightly.

She stared. "How did you guess?"

"Well, you're going out with me, aren't you? I never thought Evans liked me much, does she?"

"Not since that time in fourth year when you and James tried to steal her bra," said Helen.

"I swear it was nothing personal," he added. "I was just helping James. And plus, I'd already seen one of yours."

Helen's eyes widened. "You _what_!"

"Whoops…" He never seemed to know when to shut up for his own good. "Well, you left one at James's that summer when you stayed with your aunt and uncle's for two weeks…"

Helen shook her head disbelievingly. "I thought I'd lost it! Oh, never mind, I don't even want to know what you've done with it."

"C'mon, Hel, that was four years ago…" said Sirius. "And I already liked you."

She smiled. "I did, too. And I'm really glad we're together now."

He kissed her briefly on the lips. "Me too."

"Miss Evans!" said Professor Sprout, tutting loudly. "Miss Evans, you're supposed to be delicate when extracting the roots!"

Lily blushed slightly. She knew she was going to kill Harry if she kept this up. It was the morning after the huge fight with Helen, and, now that the plants were all starting to get rather big for their small pots, they were, well, repotting them. Of course, this was a very delicate process, since the roots were the most fragile part of the Magniolicae, and yet she was so busy mulling over her mind what her best friend had told her during that argument that she was hardly paying attention.

"Is everything okay, Evans?" asked James softly. He was sitting on her right, holding a bottle of Mandrake juice to reinforce the roots of the poor shrub. "You've already torn them twice…"

"I'm sorry!" she burst out. "I didn't do it on purpose!" She breathed deeply, trying to calm down. She couldn't just kill Harry like that, and she definitely didn't need to have stupid Potter remind her at how lousy a 'parent' she was being.

He grinned. "That's okay, I didn't mean to scold you or anything… these things happen," he added lightly. "And plus, I've got enough Mandrake juice to cover the whole Green House…"

Lily nodded absently, and poked back in the pot to extract the delicate golden threads. There. She was doing perfectly fine now.

"Hey, Professor!" called someone from the back of the class. "Does it mean something if our plant's leaves are blue?"

Lily closed her eyes. It had been stupid Black asking that stupid question. That just proved that the guy didn't pay any attention in class, at all. Sprout had told them all last week that the color the leaves assumed merely depended on the type of nourishment they were being given, and that the leaves were going to become green by the following week. But then, Black was probably too busy snogging Helen to actually listen. Oh, how she hated him! First he and Potter tried ruining her — and other students' — life with their stupid pranks, and now it was his fault if she and Helen weren't talking to each other. Stupid, stupid –

CRASH!

"MISS EVANS!"

With a jerk to match her anger, Lily had taken another go at the plant, and had sent the pot flying. It landed loudly on the floor, smashing completely.

"Oh, shit," murmured Lily, quickly making her way to the mess and taking out her wand.

"Here," said James, kneeling beside her, "why don't I take care of that?"

As much as she hated him at the moment, she nodded her head again. She really hoped Harry wasn't dead.

"Don't worry," he murmured, sensing her fear. "_Reparo_!" he then bellowed, pointing his wand at the broken vase, which immediately mended before their eyes.

"Thanks," muttered Lily, not looking at him, as she sat back on her chair.

"No problem," answered James. "You know what? I'll finish up with the roots, while you tell me what's bothering you so much, okay?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "I told you, it's nothing."

James raised an eyebrow, as he easily extracted Harry from the now-repaired pot and, after spraying it with Mandrake juice and water, stuck it in a bigger vase. "Nothing? Oh, please, Lily, I don't mean to rub it in or anything, but you almost killed Harry. _Three times._"

Lily was about to answer but froze for a moment. He'd never called her by her first name before. Except for the very first time they'd met, but she'd made sure he wasn't going to repeat that same mistake twice.

"What?" asked James, apparently oblivious to the situation. "C'mon, you can confide in me… I am, after all, your baby's father, aren't I? We are both Harry's parents, so, in a way, I'm kind of like your husband. And you know you can confide in your husband," he finished, grinning.

Quite uncharacteristically of her, Lily actually laughed at this. "Oh yes, the bonds linking the two of us to Harry are _so_ strong!"

James stared. "They _are_!"

"He's a plant!"

"Don't say it like that! You make it sound like it's a bad thing!"

"It's not a bad thing, it's the truth!" she said, still giggling.

James rolled his eyes. "Now, _that_ is discrimination. It's not Harry's fault if he was born a Magnolicus Whatever…"

"A Magnolica Venefica," corrected Lily. "Remind me again how you managed to get Outstanding in all your O.W.L.s? How much gold did you give the teachers?"

"I got O's in all my O.W.L.'s because I am exceedingly smart, brilliant, and good-looking. And it's not like I could bribe someone like Minnie," answered James.

"You forgot 'modest'." She paused. "Who's Minnie?"

James laughed. "Minnie is my all-time favorite professor! Minnie McGonagall!"

Lily stared. "Don't tell me you actually call her that."

"I do whenever I'm in the mood to get a new detention. Sirius and I have got a competition going on who gets the most," he explained. "Or rather, we used to, but this year, what with being Head Boy and all, I _have_ cut down rather drastically all my pranking. Did you notice?"

But Lily was no longer listening. At the mention of Black's name, she'd remembered the whole argument, and mentally kicked herself for having been joking around with the enemy. Or, at any rate, the enemy's best friend.

"Lily? Hello? Are you still with us?" asked James, waving a hand in front of her.

Lily glared. "Remind me again since when we're on a first-name basis here, _Potter_?"

James was left rather speechless by this statement. "Er — we're not?"

"No."

James stared at her. "But what about that whole 'we're-both-Harry's-parents-and-thus-should-act-as-husband-and-wife' thing?"

"Nothing more than I could have expected from a dung brain like you," answered Lily harshly. "Don't you ever grow tired of bothering me?"

"Do you want to know what I think, _Evans_?" he asked. "I think there's something bothering you, which is _not_ me, but since you can't take it out on anyone else, you're using me as scapegoat."

Lily huffed. "Yeah, well…"

"What?" he coaxed. "C'mon, tell me… I might be able to help you… or maybe not, but at least I can comfort you or something… It's worth a try, isn't it?"

Lily sighed. "It's just that because of your stupid prat of a best friend–"

"Sirius?"

"– yeah. Because of him, Helen and I are not talking to each other," she said sadly.

"What did Sirius –" He trailed off, comprehension dawning on his face. "Oh… Let me guess. You just found out he and my cousin are going out together, and you don't approve, and Helen's mad because she's happy with Sirius and _wants_ you to approve. Am I right?"

She nodded. "Obviously."

"Well," he said slowly, "what I'll tell you is this. I know Sirius isn't exactly at the top of your list — but then again, neither am I, but that's beside the point — but, well, he's really a good guy deep down. I mean, okay, so he acts like an arrogant show-off for most of the time, but I think he really likes Helen. Because, you know, if he's just going to hurt her, then he's got me to answer to!" He grinned sheepishly. "Helen is my cousin, after all, and, well, don't think I won't be keeping an eye on Sirius."

"I know… I mean, it's not like I have a problem with Black or anything, because I'm sure he must be a great guy. Okay, no, I'm not sure, but I hope so. Anyway, I've seen the way he treats other girls, he just uses them, just like yo–" She stopped abruptly, hoping he hadn't understood what she was about to say.

He had. "Just like me, eh? Because that's what you think of me, isn't it? That I'm this womanizing, arrogant, spoiled little brat who's just in for one-night stands. Isn't it?"

"No, well, that wasn't what I –"

"It was exactly what you meant, and we both know it," said James.

Lily breathed deeply. "Listen, James, I am not criticizing your love life or your friends or anything like that. All I'm saying is that Helen isn't the girl who wants that kind of relationship. And neither am I."

James shook his head. "Just out of curiosity… Has it never occurred to you that maybe — just maybe — I can't have a serious relationship with a girl because I'm just waiting for the perfect one? That I'm just waiting…" he paused for a moment before continuing, "for you?"

"Please, don't start again with this crap, okay? Like I said, it might work on other girls, but it has no effect whatsoever on me except annoy me. Can we talk about something else?" she asked.

"Sure," said James softly. "But you'll see. One day you'll finally understand that what I say is true, and you will fall for me."

Lily shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Well, we're just going to have to see. I know I'll keep trying." He paused for a moment. "Oh, and by the way, I would suggest you calm down before you do anything to Harry again, because I don't want to become an–an orphan of child? How do you say it?"

Lily smiled slightly. "No idea."

"Ooh," said James, grinning, "have I just caught my favorite walking dictionary unprepared?"

She rolled her eyes. "You'll never change, will you?"

"No. But would you want me to?"

_No_, she said quietly to herself. Maybe — just maybe — Potter wasn't so unbearable after all.

A/N: That's it with chapter four as well! What do you say? Anyway, I _promise_ Remus gets a girlfriend in the next chappie, so don't worry about that. Now… reviews, anyone?


	5. The Girlfriend Conspiracy

"Helen, can I talk to you for a sec?" said Lily meekly. It was evening, and both of them were in the common room. Lily had already finished her homework, while the brunette still had to complete a long and boring essay on Food-Creating Charms.

"Sure," answered Helen in a rather cold tone. She locked eyes with Sirius for a moment, and he gave her the thumbs-up. Helen smiled at him: he looked so cute, trying to figure out why their plant's leaves were not remotely as soft as Harry's. James, who was sitting next to Sirius, holding his precious Harry in his hands, was grinning smugly at his best friend, muttering something that sounded awfully like 'incompetent parents'.

After checking that their dormitory was empty, Lily made her way up the stairs to it and entered, closely followed by Helen. She sat on her bed and looked at the brunette.

"Helen…" she began.

The stony expression on Helen's face was putting Lily off a bit, but Helen didn't care. "Yes?"

Lily gulped. "Listen, Hel, I'm sorry. I've been a horrible friend and I know it, and I had absolutely no right to get so mad at you for going out with Sirius. I mean, I don't even know him that well! It was cruel of me, and I'm sorry. You've also made me realize just how selfish I've been this whole time… I must have been a terrible friend if in over three years that you had a crush on Sirius you never confided in me… and I never noticed. You're right, I'm an awful friend and a bigheaded prat, and maybe that's why your cousin gets on my nerves so much, because I'm just like him. Please, Helen, will–"

Helen grinned and cut her off. "That's okay. Of course I forgive you! I haven't been the nicest person around either, you know, I told you all those terrible things–"

"But you were right, Hel! I was so arrogant and-and blind that I could only see other people's faults, while mine were just as terrible if not worse!"

"C'mon, Lils, don't worry about it! I told you it's okay!" She grinned again. "Fine, so lately neither of us has been the perfect best friend, but, you know, that's why we're human… nobody's perfect, and, honestly, I think it's better this way. I mean, how boring would it be if everybody were good at everything?"

Lily smiled, too. "Who could stand your cousin if he were even perfectly responsible?" She paused. "And who could stand me if I were perfect at everything I did? I'm already arrogant enough to become James's twin!"

Helen got up and hugged her best friend. "Well, I think I would still be your best friend. And I also think James would like you even if you were arrogant and conceited."

Lily laughed. "You know, I'm really glad we're best friends again. I've missed you so much these two days!"

Helen grinned. "Me too, Lils!"

"Did you?" asked Lily, raising an eyebrow. "I think you were rather busy this couple of days… I doubted you'd even noticed my absence…"

"Oh?" asked Helen. "What do you mean?"

Lily grinned slyly. "Oh, you know perfectly well what I mean… Does Sirius really kiss as well as his fan club members claim?"

Helen laughed and winked at her. "Even better."

Fine, so things between him and Lily were not going the way he'd hoped, but at least they were on speaking terms with each other and actually had some rather interesting conversation. _Yes_, James thought to himself, _hexing Evans to do this project together has probably been the best idea I've ever had… and knowing me, that's saying something_. He grinned as he thought this. Maybe Lily was right, he hadn't grown up _that_ much over the summer.

And after she and Helen made up, Lily seemed all happy and bubbly again… if, you know, she ever had been bubbly before. She had even started calling him James of her own accord, and didn't seem to mind anymore to be seen in his company. Talk about unexpected improvements.

"Hey, Prongs, you still in Wonderland or you're only daydreaming about Evans again?" asked a voice, interrupting his train of thoughts.

"Uh?" he asked rather stupidly.

"Hello! Earth to Prongs, earth to Prongs!" yelled Sirius. The two of them were walking toward the Great Hall for lunch, accompanied by Helen, who was grinning slightly as Sirius put an arm around her waist.

"What? I'm listening!" said James.

"Well, you may be listening now, but you definitely weren't for the rest of the conversation… _and_ you had the I-really-love-Evans-and-cannot-stop-thinking-about-her look. You were even starting to drool."

James flushed slightly. "No way."

Sirius tsked loudly. "How many times do I have to tell you? This Evans obsession is ruining you, mate! You've got to put her off your mind, okay?"

"Oh yeah, just like you put Helen off your mind?" muttered James.

Helen turned around sharply. "I'm sorry?"

Sirius shot daggers at James, but James continued, unperturbed. "Don't be fooled by his cocky demeanor. Padfoot here has been drooling after you for quite a while, actually, only he was so sure you were out of his league that he was a bit less obvious with his feelings for you. But I assure you, I think I know more about you than I do about Lily, because when Padfoot sets his mind on something, he will constantly think about it. And we all know that Padfoot says everything his tiny brain processes."

Helen giggled. "Wow, you must have given Remus quite the headache! You, relentlessly rambling about Lily, and Sirius here talking about me…"

"Oh yeah, poor guy always ended up with headaches… Lucky he doesn't have a girlfriend — or a crush, for that matter — to ramble on about, otherwise Wormtail would probably have already Avada Kedavraed himself. No kidding," finished Sirius, grinning.

"Yeah," said James, "lucky Moony doesn't–" He stopped short. "Oh my God!"

"What?" asked Helen, surprised.

Sirius looked at her sadly. "He's finally lost it completely."

"Oh my God!" repeated James yet again, staring, awestruck, ahead of him. "Look! Oh miserable, miserable me!"

The other two gazed at the direction he was indicating. Sirius snorted, while Helen didn't really understand what the big deal was. They had walked in on a couple snogging. Big deal.

"What?" asked Helen, still confused.

"Open your eyes, Hel! See? Even Moony has a girlfriend now! _Moony_!" yelled James.

Helen squinted at the couple, embarrassedly, and noticed, with difficulty, that it was Remus after all. After some time, she was able to recognize the girl as well: her name was Alexandra York, a pretty Ravenclaw seventh year. She wasn't very tall, with dark hair and brown eyes, but she seemed like a really nice girl. "So?" asked Helen.

James was on a rant by now. "Moony! I mean, as long as it was Padfoot, who's Hogwarts' Number Two Hottie after all, then okay, but I mean… Moony? It makes no sense! Don't tell me even Wormtail is dating some chick before Evans and I actually get together or I just might consider jumping off the Astronomy Tower!" He shook his head. "Moony, of all people…"

"Why?" asked Helen. "What about Remus? Actually, I think he's very attractive. I mean, he's smart for a start, he's kind, he's gentle, he's good-looking–"

"Whoa, slow down, baby," interrupted Sirius, glaring. "I thought you were _my_ girlfriend, remember?"

"Yeah, well, he _listens_ to you when you talk, you know, he's really nice," said Helen.

"I'm sorry, baby, did you say something?" asked Sirius.

Helen rolled her eyes. "Exactly. You've just proved my point."

"Did I?" smiled Sirius.

"Oh, c'mon, girls only like him because he's all quiet and lonely and girls just love to save the day…" trailed off James.

"Yeah, well, whatever it is," said Helen, "I find him quite attractive, even if he is a bit quiet. I think he's really a great guy–"

"Helen! Hello! You're still _my_ girlfriend, you should be talking about me!" interrupted Sirius yet again.

James sat quiet for a minute, as Sirius and Helen bickered. "I bet girls like him because he's blond. I mean, I know Lily likes James Dean, she's got a poster of him in her dormitory–"

Sirius stared. "So? Girls like _me_. Do I look blond to you?"

"Maybe I should dye my hair or something…" said James.

This time both Helen and Sirius stared. "Are you kidding me? James, you're great just the way you are! Maybe a bit bigheaded, but I assure you, changing your hair color wouldn't make any difference," said the brunette, unsure whether she was paying him a compliment or offending him.

James didn't seem to notice, anyway, so Sirius spoke up instead.

"And, Prongs, mate! You're a Marauder! A _Marauder_! Do you know what this means! Huh? That you're hot — not as hot as me, of course — but still pretty damn good-looking! You shouldn't change your hair colour just for one girl!"

But James seemed lost in his own world. "And, I mean, it's not like he's dating some hag like — what's her name again? Oh yeah, Kiara Midgen — or, I dunno, someone incredibly ugly or stupid! I mean, Lexy York is a pretty hot chick, if you get my drift… not as good as Lily, of course, but she's still not so bad…"

Sirius laughed. "C'mon, Prongs, I know Moony isn't exactly Hogwarts' Number One Hottie or anything, but he _is_ a Marauder, and a self-respecting Marauder will not go out with any girl who is ugly or average-looking. I mean, it's rule number three, remember?"

It was Helen's turn to gasp. "Excuse me! What did you just say!"

"Whoopsie," murmured Sirius, suddenly very interested in his shoes. Why did he never keep his stupid mouth shut? Why? It was Helen who always had this effect on him, making him blab about things that were really better unsaid.

James stared at him. He seemed to finally have returned to reality instead of his silly daydreams. "There was a reason why the 'Self-Respecting Marauder's Rules' were kept secret, you know, Padfoot…" he muttered, waiting for the bomb to explode.

"Wait a moment, what's this you're telling me! That you don't like me because of me but you only started going out with me because of my chest or my looks or — or whatever else your perverted minds found attractive of me!" yelled Helen.

"Yes!" said Sirius. "I mean, no! No, of course not!" He stared in her eyes, seriously. "No. Listen, Helen, I really really like you, not just because of how you look, okay? I mean, fine, it may have started out that way, but I really really like you now for the whole you. You're an amazing person, and now I don't know what I'd do with myself without you."

James thought Sirius was pushing it a bit too much, but he couldn't help noticing that Sirius was not wearing his usual cheeky grin, that he put on every time he said corny stuff to girls to make them throw their knickers at him. He was actually looking quite serious.

"If I hadn't been so mad at you," answered Helen, still glaring a little, "I would have kissed you, because that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"But?" asked Sirius, waiting to hear his punishment.

"But you will have to content yourself with my forgiveness for now — even against my own will — because you do have your way with words…" she finished, smiling.

"Yeah," said James, a sly grin on his face, "Padfoot really does know how to use his tongue…"

At this, both Sirius and Helen turned around and smacked him on the head, before heading off to the Room of Requirement for some more — er — intimate conversation.

"Oh, sure," muttered James, staring after them, "let's abandon poor James to wallow in his own misery… who cares if he's a wreck and the love of his life _hates_ him!" He raised his voice. "What happened to friends being more important than girlfriends, Padfoot?" he yelled. "Shouldn't you stay here and comfort me?"

Sirius didn't even stop, but he did make a rather rude gesture with his hand from behind Helen's back. Go figure.

That evening, in the common room, they were all sitting around the roaring fire. Much to James's joy, in fact, ever since Sirius and Helen had started going out together, he was seeing a lot more of Lily, due to the fact that Lily was practically glued to Helen, who was now practically glued to Sirius, who had always been practically glued to James, who had always tried to be practically glued to Lily, who… oh, never mind.

The topic of conversation amongst the four (Remus, Peter and Alice were usually with them as well, but now that he was going out with Lexy, Remus seemed to be spending a very long time out of the Gryffindor Tower; Peter was up in his dormitory, frantically searching for his copy of _Understanding the Wonderful World of Muggles_, which he had lost previously this year and that he needed urgently for tomorrow's Muggle Studies assignment; and Alice… well, ever since she and Frank were going out, nobody ever saw much of them anymore) was, incredibly, books.

"I absolutely love Muggle books," Lily was saying. "That's probably due to the fact that I grew up reading them all my life, but as of right now, I don't think you could even remotely compare a book like 'Spellbound' to, I don't know, one like 'Pride and Prejudice'."

"I totally agree!" said James enthusiastically.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You mean you actually know what that 'Pride and Joy' book is?"

"It's 'Pride and Prejudice', honey," corrected Helen, smiling slightly.

"Of course I know what it is! I even read some of it! I remember Helen was reading it that time she came to my house for two weeks three years ago, remember? She'd forgotten it, too, just like she'd forgotten…" He trailed off, as he noticed both Sirius and Helen shooting daggers at him.

"What?" asked Lily. "What else had she forgotten?"

"Er…" said James. "Her–her… stuffed teddy-bear," he finished.

Both Sirius and Helen gave a sigh of relief. Sirius was slowly learning to keep his mouth shut about certain things, he reckoned it was time James learned it, too.

"Stuffed teddy bear?" asked Lily. "Oh, I absolutely love them! I have tons at home."

Sirius grinned. "Hey, Prongs, did you hear? Another thing to add to your list!"

Lily stared. "What list?"

This time it was James shooting a glare at Sirius. Maybe he really _hadn't_ learned yet just when to shut up. "'All the things I didn't know about Lily Evans and that I must write down so that I don't forget them'," he muttered.

Lily was still staring at her fellow Head Boy, surprise written all over her delicate features. "You keep a list like that?"

Once again, it was Padfoot who, much to James's dismay, spoke up, saying things that James would have preferred remained unsaid. "Oh, he has one too many of those. See, there's one that's called 'All the places Lily Evans's been to and that I must visit to get new exciting topics for conversation' or 'All the books Lily Evans has read and how long it has taken her to do so and how much has she liked them' or 'How has Lily Evans rejected me this time to see if there's a pattern' or 'Ideas for possible birthday presents for Lily Evans which must be very special' or 'All the guys Lily Evans has dated with their best qualities to see what I lack that they have' or–"

"Hold on," cut in James, momentarily forgetting that Lily was there. "I'm missing that one. Might be a good idea."

Lily's eyes widened in shock. "You mean you actually keep all the other lists he's said?"

"And many more," murmured Sirius solemnly.

James glared at him. "Well, I used to… really, Lily, I don't do it anymore, I swear! There was a time, though, when I really–"

Lily cut him off, still looking rather bewildered. "Oh my God. Oh my God! I HAVE A STALKER!" she yelled.

Helen tried very hard to keep a straight face. "Lily, dear, we've known that for ages. Remember? It's James we're talking about."

"Oh," said Lily, nodding. "Yeah, you're right, Hel. It's _James_."

This time it was James looking confused. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"That after wearing a hat with my picture on it on which you had actually recorded my voice for over two months last year, I have sworn that nothing about you could ever surprise me anymore," said Lily.

James grinned. "You mean you actually remember that? Oh, the joy! Did you hear that, Padfoot? She remembers!"

Lily cocked her head. "Of course I remember! You've traumatized me! I couldn't forget you even after ten years of psycho-therapy."

"Psycho-what?" asked Sirius. He had clearly never paid much attention in Muggle Studies.

"Who cares, Padfoot?" yelled James, who was almost dancing out of pure delight. "She says she couldn't forget me! Oh, the happiness!" 

Lily felt the corners of her mouth moving slightly upwards, and she burst out laughing despite herself. She couldn't believe how truly happy he looked, just because she'd remembered something about him. He sure was weird, sometimes.

"James, dear, I don't think she meant it as a compliment, though," cut in Helen, who was also giggling.

James shrugged. "So? Oh, wait till I tell Harry! He'll be thrilled to know his mommy remembers things I did to impress her!"

Lily shook her head, still grinning. "You're unbelievable."

"Yeah," said Sirius, "and that's why we all love him so much."

Helen nodded in agreement, and Lily couldn't help doing the same.

A/N: Oh, Lord, don't we just love James Potter? He can be ever so cute, sometimes! Anyway, I apologise most profousely since it took so long to get this up, but my computer broke down... again. But chapter five is up now, that"s settled... _And_ Remus even got his girlfriend! So, thanks to everyone for the wonderful reviews and please, please keep 'em coming! You really brighten my day!

Thanks

Hallie


	6. Hogsmeade

Free afternoons were very rare amongst students at Hogwarts. Especially seventh year students, who, as N.E.W.T.s time grew nearer, were usually seen spending every spare moment trying to conjure kittens out of thin air or remembering the twelve uses of dragon blood.

That's why our favorite Gryffindors were very happy to be lazily sprawled out on the couches and armchairs of the common room on one of said afternoons. They had spent the past week studying like crazy, and now, Saturday, it was finally time to relax.

The absence of homework, however, did not mean that plants were not present in their 'parents'' hands, being the constant centre of their attentions and a great pride to all.

"Aw, look at him, Lily," James said fondly, staring at his 'son'. "He's absolutely gorgeous… So grown-up…"

"Looks just like you, mate," said Sirius, sniggering at his best friend's adoration for Harry. He and Helen hadn't even named their plant.

James rolled his eyes. "You might sneer, Padfoot, but Harry is actually very good-looking. I'm sure he'll make all those female plants' heads — or rather, leaves — turn. Don't you agree, Lily?" he asked, looking at his pretend wife for comfort.

Lily giggled slightly. "He sure is handsome…" James grinned triumphantly. "However, James, dear, I doubt he'll make any plants' leaves turn…"

"How so?" asked James, skeptic.

Lily giggled again. "Well, unless I'm much mistaken, plants reproduce asexually, so…"

James gaped at her, while Sirius rolled his eyes. "Stop talking like a textbook, Lily. I think I'm speaking for everyone here when I say 'Huh?'."

Helen laughed as Remus spoke up. "Actually, Padfoot, you're only speaking for yourself. Asexual reproduction means that in order to procreate said being — in this case, Harry — does not need any input from a plant of the opposite sex."

"That means no sexual relationships, Sirius," said Helen, amused at her boyfriends' look.

Sirius's jaw dropped, looking rather scandalized. "Man, that sucks."

Remus grinned. "Aren't you glad you weren't born a plant?"

"Definitely," answered Sirius, nodding his head vehemently.

James, who had kept unusually quiet throughout this exchange, finally spoke up. "Are you meaning to tell me," he asked, staring at Lily, "that we'll become grandparents before Harry's first date?"

Lily frowned. "Er… yeah… I guess you could put it that way, yes."

Sirius grinned. "Like father like son, eh?" Met by confused looks from the rest, Sirius decided to elaborate. "Well, you and Lily became parents before having gone out together, didn't you?"

Everyone laughed. "You know what, Lils?" asked James, smiling. "Padfoot is, God bless him, right for this once. Want to straighten this out? How about going to Hogsmeade together tomorrow?"

Lily's cheeks coloured slightly. "Actually–"

James cut her off immediately. "Not as a date, obviously, just to, you know, spend some quality time with your family?"

Lily averted his gaze. "I'm really sorry, James, but I guess we'll have to do another time. I already made plans for tomorrow…" She smiled slightly and picked Harry up. "Well, I'm going to bed. Good night everyone!"

And with that, she ran up to her dormitory full speed. Everyone's attention turned to Helen, who was comfortably sitting in Sirius's lap.

"What?" she asked, noticing the Marauders' gazes on her.

James rolled his eyes. "How thick can you be?" He shook his head, then resumed, in a far more urgent tone, "What are Lily's plans for tomorrow?"

Helen raised an eyebrow. "I hardly think that's any of your business, James."

"Is too!" answered James fervently. "Besides, it's not like Padfoot can't make you tell him if I ask him to. Why don't you save us all the trouble and tell me?"

Helen rolled her eyes. "Fine. She's meeting Davey Gudgeon."

James's head snapped up. "Gudgeon? Tall bloke, Ravenclaw, graduated two years ago?"

Helen nodded, "The very same."

"And what has Lily got to do with that fellow? I never liked him much, myself," said James, still glaring.

"Actually," said Helen, "I don't really like him that much, either, and I don't like the way he's behaved with Lily."

It was as if something clicked in James's brain. "Why? What has he done to her? Oh, if he's hurt her, I'm never going to let him live this down!"

Helen smiled. "No, he didn't do anything to her… nothing like that, anyway. I just don't like him much, but that's me."

"And me," said James forcefully.

Sirius grinned. "Well, you don't count, Prongs. Don't you think you're a bit biased? The guy's going out with the love of your life, of course you don't like him."

"Exactly," said James. "I wonder what she sees in him?"

"Well," said Helen, "what can I say? First crushes are hard to get over…" She smiled sympathetically at her cousin. "But I guess you know that better than I do."

"Yeah…" said James, frowning. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." He yawned loudly. "I'm going to bed. You coming, Moony?"

Remus grinned. "You didn't seriously think I wanted to remain here with Hogwarts' Sweethearts, did you? I already see enough of them at it as it is…"

Sirius and Helen grinned, as they bid goodnight to their friends.

"Prongs, listen, I don't want to sound insensible or heartless or whatever," said Sirius placidly. The marauders were walking together around the busy streets of Hogsmeade. Both Sirius and Remus had decided to spend the day with James instead of their girlfriends: he was looking very down now that he knew for a fact that Lily's heart belonged to someone else. However, tact wasn't exactly Sirius's strong suit, and never had been. "But… do you think you could stop sulking for a moment and enjoy yourself for a while at least?" he asked bluntly. "Or at least pretend to, just for my and Moony's sakes here…"

Remus glared at him slightly, giving him one of those can't-you-see-he's-in-pain kind of looks.

Sirius shrugged. "What? It's true! I mean, Prongs knows I love him and all, but… God, he's _boring_!" He turned to James. "Fine, so Lily still won't give you the time of day. Big deal! Haven't you gotten used to it, by now?"

"Padfoot," answered James, "could you shut up before I hex you all the way to Azkaban?"

"Fine. But you have to realise you're starting to annoy me. You're always moping around for one reason or the other." Sirius sighed. "I'm not saying you should move on — mainly because I know you'd bite my head off even if I so much as considered it — but… I don't know… try to at least distract yourself a bit… Think about something else… enjoy the wonderful weather and the freedom here in this beautiful town!"

Prongs rolled his eyes. "I might be annoying, but you're certainly not helping. Actually, you are the worst best friend _ever_! Can't you see I'm in pain here?"

"Yeah, well, so am I, thanks to you."

"All right," interrupted Remus, thinking it was time for him to butt in on the conversation. "I think I've heard enough. Padfoot, stop behaving like a nark and let Prongs wallow in his own despair since he obviously enjoys it so much." Sirius huffed at this but kept his mouth shut. "Prongs… well, I actually think a distraction wouldn't be a bad idea after all. We _really_ need you to stop focusing your attentions on Lily, or I think I might explode. Wormtail," he concluded, addressing to the last marauder who had kept quiet (as he often did) throughout the whole argument, "… well… _say_ something!"

"Um… a prank?" squeaked Peter.

Remus rolled his eyes. As 'Responsible One' of the group, he was often the one in charge of stopping them from causing any more mayhem than strictly necessary. Sirius's eyes, instead, glinted with malice. "Good idea, Wormtail… Look, there's our good friend Snapey coming toward us."

And, indeed, slimy-haired Severus Snape was walking toward Zonko's, the shop the foursome had just left.

However, this sight only brought a new wave of depression to James. "Lily said…" He gulped. "Lily told me not to prank on Snivellus if I wanted to… to…"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Prongs! Is there anything we can say that will not remind you of Lily in any way!" asked Sirius.

"Not when she's standing over there talking to Gudgeon, it won't," said Peter, pointing ahead to where the two were doubtlessly talking happily.

James let out a frustrated cry. "Oh, look! She's even having fun! They're all laughing and chatting and.. ugh!"

Remus gave James a sidelong glance. "I thought you wanted her to be happy?" he asked. "Actually, if I remember correctly, I think the exact words were, 'I will reduce that git to smithereens if he so much as makes her frown'."

"Yeah well," answered James grumpily, "that was just a figure of speech."

Sirius sighed. "Well, I think I know of one thing that could put you in a good mood."

Remus stared at him, obviously fearing Sirius's peculiar ideas, and shook his head. "Are you sure we want to hear it?"

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You might as well, unless you want to keep hanging out with him in those pitiful conditions."

"Have I ever told you you are the most tactless person I've ever met?" asked James wearily. 

"Probably tons of times already," answered Sirius, grinning, "and that's never stopped me before."

"Well?" asked Peter.

Sirius looked at his companions superiorly, before saying slowly, "Wise Padfoot says, when all else fails, go eat chocolate."

Remus laughed, while James's head snapped up. "Chocolate?"

"Yes, my friend. Chocolate."

James looked thoughtful. "And… and liquorice wands? And ice mice?"

"Of course. _And_," added Sirius, smiling at his best friend, "I hear Honeydukes has only just created a new product, which my sources tell me is called Choco-magus. It's supposed to transform you into a chocolate bar for a few seconds." He paused. "Or maybe it was the other way around and transformed itself into your clone?" He scratched his chin. "I don't remember. Something of the sort, anyway."

James grinned. "Only one way to find out. You know, Wise Padfoot, I think I could do with some sugar right now."

And as James began wandering toward Honeydukes, Remus winked at Sirius. "For a moment back there, I was afraid you were going to steer him into the Three Broomsticks. Since when is 'A Double-Firewhiskey solves any problem' not your motto anymore?"

"Since Prongs barfed on my newest cloak when I had to drag him back to Gryffindor Tower on my own last Christmas." He grinned. "I mean, I am strong, but the guy is _heavy_, and there's too many girls here to go around showing off Prongs's breakfast on my robes, if you know what I mean."

Remus frowned. "Of course I know what you mean. Don't act like a victim here, Padfoot. What about all those times _I_ had to drag _you_ back to the castle completely drunk and then have to go back for Prongs?"

Sirius raised his hands. "Hey, you're the one who decided to be the 'Responsible One' of the Marauders." He paused. "And I never puked on your clothes. Not that I remember, anyway."

Remus rolled his eyes. "You don't remember because you were drunk."

Sirius grinned, but was spared answering as James called over to them from the shop.

Despite his 'pitiful conditions', as Padfoot would call them, James's afternoon in Hogsmeade hadn't been too bad.

This was probably due to the fact that by six o'clock he'd consumed so much sugar that he could no longer think properly, even if 'Lily references' had been made throughout the whole day.

On Monday morning he was feeling considerably better, especially since he wasn't going to be seeing any more of Davey Gudgeon for a good while. He thus made his way to the Great Hall for breakfast rather jauntily, preceding the rest of the Marauders, still busy in their usual morning activities (Sirius had managed to access the bathroom first; it was very likely, therefore, that most of the other seventh year boys would be skipping showers), and couldn't help noticing his favourite redhead sitting all by herself at the far end of the Gryffindor Table.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that she looked rather sour. _Probably sad she won't be seeing much of Gudgeon either…_ thought James dejectedly. He took a seat next to her. "Good morning, Lily!"

She barely lifted her head as she muttered, "Hullo." She resumed eating.

James raised an eyebrow. "Right little ray of sunshine, you are. Care to tell me what's wrong?"

Lily grunted.

James decided to keep up the conversation on his own. "So… How did it go yesterday?"

He immediately wished he hadn't spoken, for Lily finally looked up at him, looking like she was either about to burst into tears or explode in his face. James didn't know which one he feared the most. Much to his surprise, however, she did neither, and replied rather stiffly, "Well."

James nodded slowly. "Right."

He was sure he wasn't going to get another word on the subject. Just as he was already moving on to talk about their Transfiguration Essay due that day, however–

"D'you wanna know why Davey wanted to meet me in Hogsmeade, yesterday?"

James sighed. He really didn't feel like going over the finer points of their date. He feigned a thoughtful look. "Umm…. Snogging?"

Lily shook her head, while taking out a small, velvet box from her pocket. "For this."

She opened it, and inside James saw a glittering diamond ring. An engagement ring.

James stared at it, open-mouthed. The problem seemed to be a little bigger than he thought, if their intentions were _that_ serious. "He _proposed_ to you!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Not to _me_, you dolt! He… he asked me to help him pick out a ring for his girlfriend."

James's jaw dropped even lower. "He _what_! But-but… but he knows you like him!" That was just plain mean.

Lily laughed sadly. "Of course he did. Anyway, you remember Gladys Hamilton?"

"Hamilton?" James looked at her, thoughtfully. "Hamilton? Nope…"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course you do. Curly blond hair, really tall, used to wear–"

"Oh!" interjected James. "You're talking about Lacey Gladys!" He and the other Marauders (along with quite a few more boys) had given her that nickname for… obvious reasons regarding her clothing. She had been quite popular when she was at school (she had graduated last year), especially because of her mile-long legs.

"The very same," said Lily glaring. "They're getting married next month. He even invited me to the wedding."

James thought his jaw couldn't drop any lower, but it had. "He didn't!" He paused, staring at her. "You're not going, are you?"

"No way. While the rational part of me says I should have expected this from the start, I really can't seem to get myself to… ugh!" She paused. "Hallie was right. She'd told me not to get my hopes up, but me, I'm just so darn stupid! I actually thought I meant something to him! You've got no idea how happy I was when I got his owl! I mean, I thought he'd finally made up his mind about me… but I should have known better. I mean, if in those three years of me going after him he never seriously considered me as a possible girlfriend, then–"

"What do you mean, he never considered you as a girlfriend?" asked James, now looking thoroughly perplexed. "You two–"

"–never did anything. Yeah, you heard me, James. Nothing. No kissing, no snogging, no vows of eternal love…"

"But-but all those notes? The flirting?" he questioned.

Lily laughed dryly. "Helen reckons — and I have to hand it to her, it does make sense — that I was just his backup girl. I was so blind… See, what the bastard would do was just come to me whenever he and Gladys routinely broke up, and then leave me once they got back together. His little distraction, you see? But… I liked him so much! Even if at one point I realised what was going on, I wanted him to like me so much that I began hoping that if he spent time with me, he might eventually like me…" She gulped. "Needless to say, that never happened."

He looked at her. She seemed so small, so vulnerable… "I'm sorry, Lily."

"What are you sorry for? It's not like it was your fault or anything." She sighed. "Sorry. I suppose it's better this way," murmured the redhead, though she really didn't look like she was very happy with the course the events had taken. "I mean, at least now I'm sure that he's exactly the kind of person I want to avoid–"

"I'm sorry, Lily," he repeated. And, acting on mere impulse, he hugged her.

After a few moments, once he'd realised how possibly dangerous this move on his part was (especially considering Lily's mood at the moment), he broke off, clearly expecting her to curse him on the spot. Instead, she held on to him a few more seconds, before saying quietly, "Thanks, James."

Then she left, leaving him much more bewildered then he'd been during their whole conversation.

A/N: Please please don't kill me! I know it's taken me ages to update, and maybe you guys didn't even like this chapter so I've made you all wait so much for nothing… but there has been possibly the worst combination for a wannabe author like me: first I left for the holidays, then a severe case of writer's block invaded my poor brain cells… But the wait is finally over! Please leave a review and tell me what you think, okay? Thanks,  
- Hallie


	7. The end or not?

A/N: Yoo-hoo! Last chapter, everyone! I wonder why every story I write always ends up with seven chapters?

"You know, Harry," murmured Lily quietly, staring at her little plant (though by now, being the month almost up, defining it 'little' was a bit of an understatement), "your daddy was really nice to me this morning." She paused. "And, what's worse, is that I was nice to him as well, and nothing happened! He didn't make any wisecracks or any of his dumb jokes, but he remained serious — or as serious as he gets, anyway — throughout the whole time… I think he's really starting to grow on me."

"Are you sure you're not starting to fall for him?"

For a moment, Lily had actually had the impression Harry had answered back to her, but then turned around and realised Helen had just entered the girls' dormitory. "Hey… I didn't hear you come in."

Helen smiled. "I didn't want to interrupt this mother-son moment, that's all."

Lily grinned sheepishly. "I know. I'm starting to sound like James, aren't I? I can't help talking to Harry, and every time I actually half-expect him to talk back."

"And to think you didn't even want to give it — sorry, 'him' — a name," said Helen. "But he is cute…. Though not nearly as handsome as Sam, here," finished the brunette, pointing to her own plant, slightly smaller than Harry.

Lily was about to express her firm disagreement when she stopped. "Since when does _your_ plant have a name?"

Helen blushed. "Um, I, uh–"

"Ha! You and Sirius have been teasing James and me the entire time, saying we were stupid in actually calling Harry with his name, and now you of all people–"

"It was cute," answered Helen, shrugging. "And it was James's idea, anyway. He said Harry needed friends, and that considering his parentage, our plant was the most suited, and so he just made up a name for it, and Sirius and I kind of got used to it, so now he's Sam."

"Sounds exactly like something only James would do," laughed Lily. "I mean, one thing is naming his own plant, but even other people's…"

"Are you kidding me?" asked Helen. "My cousin named just about every Gryffindor's plant! Remus's is Jade, Peter's is Peter, Jr., Alice's is Louis, and I can't seem to remember Logan's, but I assure you it has a name as well."

Lily laughed. "James is amazing… but I'm not sure I mean that as a compliment."

"You have to admit he's creative."

"Yeah, no kidding…" 

Helen stared at the plants. "You know, Lils, when I think that this project is due on Friday, I'm not entirely sure I'll be as happy as I'd anticipated… I mean, I've actually gotten used to watering, and de-rooting, and reattaching the leaves that Sirius invariably sets fire to or crushes or whatever else…"

"I know! I mean, I'm not saying I'll be hating having more spare time to spend studying or, I dunno, sitting out by the lake, or that I'll miss incredibly being around that prick of your cousin around the clock, but, really, all in all, this past month has been rather enjoyable — apart from the whole Davey incident," answered the redhead.

"I'm sure the boys feel exactly the same way."

"I can't _believe_ this stupid project is almost over!" cried James for the thousandth time that day. The rest of the Marauders patiently rolled their eyes. "Oh, this is awful! Absolutely _terrible_!"

"You're not going to shut up till we ask you what's bothering you so much about not having to look after a vegetable anymore, are you?" asked Sirius.

James stared at him, horror-struck. "How can you be so insensible, Padfoot? How can you call Sam — who has been like a son to you — a mere 'vegetable'!"

"One, because he _is_ a mere vegetable," said Sirius, "and two, because he _hasn't_ been like a son to me."

"What? How can you say that? You even gave him a name!" yelled James.

"No, I didn't. _You_ gave him a name, because you'd grown tired of hearing me calling it 'turnip', which by the way was a fabulous name, anyway," answered the handsome wizard.

"Whatever," answered James. He stayed quiet for a moment. Then, "I can't believe this project is over already!"

"We _know_, Prongs," answered a tired-looking Remus.

"I hate this! I don't _want_ this project to be over!" whined James yet again.

Sirius looked about to explode, but it was Peter who spoke up. "Why?"

"Why do you think, Wormtail?" asked Sirius. "Do you think Prongs enjoys doing extra-work instead of playing Quidditch outside?"

"No?" he asked quietly.

"Wormtail," said Remus patiently, "Think about Prongs's partner-"

"Oh," answered Peter.

"Yes!" said James. "Oh, I know things will just go back to how they were before this stupid project began, and we'll go back to yelling, cursing, sniping–"

"I thought you and Lily were on speaking terms now?" asked Remus, raising an eyebrow.

"We are," said James, "but we all know Lily. Oh, I should have made her fall in love with me now that I had the chance of spending every spare moment with her, but I failed miserably…"

"Yeah," cut in Sirius. "You have to admit you're a real loser." He paused, staring at James's purple face for a moment. "Look, you know you're my best friend and all that crap, but really, if you couldn't get this girl to snog you when she was your wife–"

"–pretend wife," James put in quickly.

"Yeah, well, same difference. How do you think you're going to get her to fall for you when it'll be all over?" asked Sirius, shrugging.

James stared at him. "You are a really great prat."

Sirius smiled. "I know that."

"And you are the most tactless person I've ever met."

"Also true."

"And, you know, at this point, most best friends would say, 'No, don't worry, I'm sure she's already fallen in love with you… she just hasn't realised it yet', instead of sitting there and calling me a loser."

"I completely agree."

James shook his head slightly. "You are unbelievable."

Sirius smiled. "Thank you. I _do_ try."

Remus was looking from one to the other, shaking his head. "I'll never understand you two."

"And you should be grateful for that," muttered Peter.

Helen sat at the round table in the common room, pondering over a sheet of parchment, and looking at Sirius, brow furrowed. "Do you remember how we've cured Sam's gray leaves last week?"

Sirius closed his eyes thoughtfully for a moment. "No."

Helen exhaled slowly. "Sirius, this is the thousandth time I ask you something about this project… How is it possible that you don't remember _anything_ we did together!"

Sirius's sly grin anticipated his reply. "Oh, I remember _some_ things–"

"I was referring to things we did with Sam, you prat," cut in Helen, rolling her eyes. "What am I supposed to write on this stupid research paper? Sprout wants at least three feet, and we've barely written one!"

"Well, we could describe how much we enjoyed looking after Sam–"

"Got that."

"–and that we learned a whole lot of interesting stuff on such, um, an amazing species–"

"Got that, too."

"–well, then, maybe we could write about that time when all of Sam's leaves fell off, and we totally freaked out, and then we realised it was just an allergic reaction to my dragon-hind gloves–"

"Already wrote that."

Sirius seemed to be at a loss for words, and at a loss of patience as well. "Fine. Then in the remaining two feet, tell her how much fun we had snogging while we were pretending to have forgotten Sam in the common room. Or, better yet, tell her what we _really_ did in Greenhouse Five when it was our turn to go check on the Magnolicae, and thank her because had it not been for this stupid project, then I would never have tasted–"

"_Okay_, I _get_ the message, cut it out!" hissed the girl, blushing as she noticed every Gryffindor's eyes on her.

"Umph," muttered Sirius.

"Maybe," finished Helen thoughtfully, "we could use the remaining two feet to, I don't know, put graphs regarding Sam's growth in the past month?"

"Yeah," said Sirius, "and we'll put a whole lot of data… you know, how tall he is now, how much he weights, and compare all that with the average characteristics of other magnolicae, just to prove how well we raised him."

"Okay," agreed the brunette, as the tall wizard opened the book and conjured a scale.

In the meantime, a few seats away, Remus and his partner, Moriah Newton, were scribbling away, an essay already two feet longer than the requested three (but then, when you had Remus for a partner, essays were always the best part), whilst Peter, further down the table still, was biting his nails, staring at his companion, Darcy Plummet, hoping to scrape at least an E on this assignment, to bring up his A- average (this was the first time he wasn't working with one of the Marauders, and despite Darcy's undeniable brightness, the thought frightened him).

Finally, sitting opposite to Remus and Moriah, another couple was completing what appeared to be a very promising essay, while enjoying the little drama that was always provided whenever you were within a ten-feet radius of Sirius.

James grinned at Lily. "You have to admit this project hasn't really turned out as bad as you'd thought."

"Huh-huh," said the redhead. "Did you write about the roots, already?"

"Yeah," answered James, dipping back his quill. "I was thinking we could put also a drawing or something, since roots can be used to understand the Magnolicae's age. What do you think?"

"Sure, but we'd have to uproot it first, so we might want to do that once we're done with the leaves and all. We should also include how much Mandrake juice we used on them," finished Lily thoughtfully. "Is Sirius always like that or is he just under pressure for the project?"

"What? Sirius under pressure? Are you kidding me? Have you been absent for the past seven years? He just enjoys being the centre of attention," said James. "Oh, this is interesting," he continued, pointing to a paragraph in the book he was holding. "Take a look."

"I don't think Sirius is the only one who enjoys being the centre of attention," said Lily carefully. She gazed at the book. "Oh, yeah, we should definitely copy that down."

"Are you implying I do?"

"Oh, don't take it so personally, James," answered the redhead, smiling. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing. Just — a Marauder trait."

James raised an eyebrow. "Since when do Remus and Peter enjoy even speaking in public?"

"You're right," agreed Lily. "It's just you and Sirius, then. Are you done copying that down? We should write about leaf texture before we forget."

"Yeah, I'm done. Why don't you take it from here?" asked James, handing over the almost-completed paper. "And it's not like I'm being too conceited lately, am I?"

"Godness, James, a bit of a touchy subject, isn't this? Oh, forget I even said anything," said Lily. "Could you turn to page 336?"

"No, really. Didn't you even notice I haven't played a prank on Snivellus for the past — what — month?" He began turning the pages.

"Third paragraph down, thanks. Look, I'm not saying I didn't appreciate the effort, I was merely commenting your inclination to enjoy being overly dramatic and being at the centre of attention. Period. No harm done, is there?" she asked sweetly.

"Oh, whatever," muttered James. "_The Latinae Infra-Magnolicae Veneficae, commonly known as Magnolicae, have always been…_"

And they kept at it for quite a bit, half writing, half bickering, half just chatting like old friends. And when they were done, their research paper was the longest one yet.

"Good job, everyone. Class dismissed," announced Professor Sprout, beaming at her students as they quietly filed out of Green House Five, occasionally stealing one last glance at their pretend kids, which were now planted directly on the ground. Only Peter's and Darcy's hadn't yet reached at least two feet in height, while Harry — though still with a rather fragile-looking trunk — had grown to at least five.

With Sirius and Helen busy in the back, and Remus and Peter still talking to the teacher, James felt safe enough to go near his ex-pretend-wife, and even take a stab at friendly conversation.

"So… the month's finally up, eh?" he asked smartly.

"Yeah," answered the redhead slowly. "I think I'm going to miss Harry."

James smiled. "I already do."

"Yeah," agreed Lily. "And… you know, James, I think I'm going to miss working with you, as well."

"Really?" asked the boy, genuinely surprised.

"Yeah. I think you're really starting to grow on me."

"That's great, Lily! In that case, I'm sure you'll just be _delighted_ to hear that in yesterday's potions class, you know, when you had to go to Dumbledore's office, Slughorn said he wanted to start a team project where each team was to work together for a month and try to come up with a successful antidote to a poison he gives us and, well, I already told him you and I would make an _amazing_ couple."

Lily gazed at him, open-mouthed. "You WHAT?" She shook her head numbly. "I don't believe you."

And James just smiled that amazing smile that always made girls fall over. "Yeah…"

Lily rolled her eyes, but inwardly smiled to herself. She wasn't entirely sure she was really going to dread having to work side-along-side with James for another month.

**The End**

A/N: I did it! It's over! Yay! Did you like it? Please please tell me you did! I'm kidding… Seriously, though, anybody up for a review? Yes? Thanks!  
Oh, and, by the way, I still wanted to thank all of my faithful readers, especially all of you who took time to review — had in not been thanks to each and every one of you, I would probably still be lounging in front of my tv, eating ice cream, and watching The Gilmore Girls, with this story probably still on chapter two. But your reviews — especially when they're positive, like the ones I received for this story — make me want to come here, write something, to see how you'll react to it. So, once again, thank you!

Finally, another special thanks goes to hopelivesforever… I hope you enjoyed this chapter and won't come after me to kill me or something. : )  
Baci,  
Hallie

**If you've liked this story, and would like to read James's and Lily's adventures to complete Slughorn's project as well, I have already started writing a sequel, called _A Cauldronful of Lessons_. ****Check it out!**


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